I have quite a complex morning routine for setting up the day. It has various elements and takes a while but it has so many benefits that not doing it seems unthinkable. I usually wake up feeling quite unwell. I always feel dehydrated, I often have a headache and sometimes a sore throat, and my … Read more
Since my ‘crash’ forced me to face up to the fact that I’d been trying to do too much I’ve chosen to focus on looking after myself and taking it easy. Once again, I pushed it back up to the top of the priority list. I never deliberately removed it from prime position, I just … Read more
There are many strange challenges involved in this illness and one that ranks high in the strangeness ratings is how difficult it is to manage getting better. Increases in energy are never infinite. There are still going to be limits which if surpassed will lead to a crash. When we feel better, we know our … Read more
Vitamin C has long been associated with giving health a boost especially when you’re run down or fighting infection. It’s now understood to be a powerful antioxidant and is thought to play a role in the immune system and repairing damaged tissue. In her book ME: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Practical Guide (1988), Dr. Anne … Read more
Dealing with this illness effectively didn’t just involve learning new skills, but involved me learning completely new ways of being. This wasn’t easy because my old ways of being have had years to develop and be reinforced. First, I had to see the benefits and believe that the new ways of being would work for … Read more
If you’ve read some of my other blogs you will have gathered that my approach to dealing with unpleasant feelings is to embrace them, accept them, accept yourself for having them and have faith that they will flow and change. Generally just let them be! The important thing is not to block their flow by … Read more
After all the aspects of my life that I lost when I got ill, I think the next most difficult thing to deal with was the amount of time I had to rest. It felt boring, uncomfortable, unproductive, wasteful, frustrating, irritating…… Even now that I’m relatively well, (and it’s only because I make sure I … Read more
There was a very interesting Horizon documentary about the power of the placebo last week. A placebo is usually a non-active pill (often containing sugar or cornflower) that is given in randomised trials of new medications to a proportion of the study participants. The medication on trial has to perform better that the placebo to … Read more
Allow yourself to dream! Just make sure that you are not putting your life on hold until you reach them. Let your dreams motivate from the background whilst keeping your attention firmly in the here and now. Live for today! Make sure you match your dreams to your belief. Having dreams of what you’d like … Read more
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a substance found everywhere in our bodies and thought to be a vital ingredient in our cellular energy production. It seems our mitochondria need CoQ10 to produce ATP and release energy. It is also thought to be an important antioxidant. CoQ10 is usually synthesised by the body given the right raw … Read more
